


How To Avoid Attachments (step 1: Don't get knocked up)

by Asymptotical



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Confessions, F/M, Family Planning, Mpreg, The Wasteland is Weird, moving in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-24 22:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20021884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asymptotical/pseuds/Asymptotical
Summary: It took Deacon three months to build up the nerve to tell Nora.It took Nora about five seconds to decide on a plan for the next several years.





	How To Avoid Attachments (step 1: Don't get knocked up)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tuesday](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuesday/gifts).



At some point Nora had made the assumption that there were normal humans and then all mutated humans were ghouls. 

She wasn’t sure why she’d made that assumption. 

God knows everything _else_ seemed to have variations in mutations. 

But it was an assumption she’d made. 

So now she was left staring at Deacon, who’d come to her with his hat metaphorically in hand, and she _wasn’t sure if he was fucking with her_. 

“You’re what?” she asked, keeping her voice steady. If he was messing with her then going with it was the best way to turn it back on him, and if he wasn’t then going with it was the best way to keep the situation calm. 

“Pregnant. Knocked up. With a tiny life.” He shrugged. “It happens. Not to _me_ , up until right this situation right here right now. But it happens. Not surprised it’s with you, you tend to make things happen.” 

The last time she had seen Deacon, they’d had sex. And then he’d spent four and a half months very carefully avoiding her. 

She didn’t _think_ he would come back with a pregnancy joke. On the other hand, if it was supposed to be an obvious lie then it _was_ the sort of thing he might try to use as an ice breaker. 

Nora sighed, then looked him straight in the eyes (or sunglasses, at least). “Deacon, I have no idea if this is a thing that’s possible now, so I am going to take you entirely seriously. You need to know this, because I am also not going to take you at your word if you get nervous and try to back out of it. I’m going to assume you’re just panicking over commitment or something. The next several months of your life are going to involve a neonatal routine and family planning unless it is _painfully_ obvious you aren’t actually pregnant and probably still then just to get back at you.” 

Deacon tilted his head, shifting nervously, “ _Well_ then it’s probably good I’m not having one on? C’mon, you know me, I wouldn’t joke about something like that.” 

“You would if it wasn’t possible,” she countered. 

He frowned. “Could’ve sworn it was possible before.” 

“Nope.” 

“You sure? Because there’s some old books--” 

“Kinks,” she stated, very very sure of that. 

He smirked. “Your kink?” 

“Sure is now.” 

This was… not the weirdest thing that could happen to her, really. It would definitely be weird, emotionally, but if she was going to have a surprise kid she much preferred it was some strange thing where she’d actually managed to knock up a guy somehow instead of having to carry it herself. Not that she had minded carrying the first! But the wasteland wasn’t going to be a fun place to be nine months along. Birth was going to be even less fun. Since Deacon seemed to think it was normal, she assumed the kid had a way to get out that wasn’t any more life threatening than it would be for a woman. 

In retrospect, she hadn’t heard nearly as much about people dying in childbirth as she would have expected, considering the general standards of medical care now. 

Maybe there was no difference from before the bombs and some of the frankly bafflingly intensive surgeries that people managed now were just safer because of something about how people had subtly mutated. Or maybe she was grossly uninformed about the genital configuration of the general population. 

It wasn’t like she’d done a thorough inspection of anyone’s downstairs. Even with Deacon it had been a half clothed moment. Well, several moments. Half the night really. Honestly it was a wonder that _she_ hadn’t ended up knocked up. They’d kept most of their clothes on though, in case any enemies had rolled up. 

The whole situation was probably something weird, since she sure as heck hadn’t been sticking anything up Deacon. Not that she _wouldn’t_ if it turned out he was into that but-- 

“You’re taking this better than I expected,” he admitted. The way that he was relaxing a little in relief was more in the way of proof that he _wasn’t lying_ than anything he actually could have said was. 

“How did you expect me to take it?” she asked. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the house. This wasn’t a doorstep conversation. 

She hadn’t stayed in her old house. It had seemed like a good idea to break with the past, to let the frame of the old house get converted into a kind of community center while she took up a set of newly built rooms with the same layout as her settlers. Except hers had direct access to the armory. She was going to have to childproof the _heck_ out of the armory door, especially if kid number two ended up as smart as kid number one had. It wasn’t like she’d been around to figure out how to raise a genius the first time (and the thought was only a little painful now, with a lot of distance and explosions behind her). 

“ _Well_ ,” he drawled, “your life is a bit… complicated.” 

There was a fucking understatement. 

“Also,” he forged on, “it was kind of a-- you know-- a casual fling. Not really the sort of thing you expect a lifetime commitment from. And I’d get it, if you didn’t want involved. Not what you asked for! But you seem like the kind of person--” 

“So step one is going to be you moving here,” she interrupted, figuring future planning was the best way to stop the direction Deacon’s mind was going. 

Nora used his surprise to shove him down on the couch, dropping down onto it to sit next to him. It was pretty soft, the fabrication team had been doing a good job. 

“Doesn’t have to be in _here_. If you’d rather your own place that’s fine, we can do that. But it’s best we start that now because Sanctuary seems like the best bet for raising a kid.” 

“I’m not gonna be off duty for awhile yet,” he protested. “I just-- thought it was best to let you know _now_ instead of months down the road.” 

Nora patted his leg, “Obviously. I was working up until 8 months along. At a _desk job_ granted, but a stressful desk job. We just want to get things settled so when you _are_ too far along to work you’ll be all set.” She paused, thinking things through. “You did already wait, what, a few months? Unless pregnancies have different terms now you’re halfway there.” 

“Did you have a standard length back then? I guess that would explain the 8 months thing.” He shrugged, pulling a leg up and then setting it down and generally looking like he was rethinking this whole conversation. 

Too late. He was trapped now. 

Her eyes narrowed at him. “How long will it be for you?” 

“Well… it depends.” 

“On?” 

“Well you see your parents do something one way and your parents parents do something other ways and at some point you probably match up with someone on those lines. Or maybe something entirely new.” He shrugged. “Haven’t done this before so, who knows.” 

Nora sighed. “Really?” 

“Yeah?” He eyed her, smirking in a way that made her want to question everything he said and also want to push him down and make out. It _was_ a comfortable couch. “What, you think I’m hiding a few kids somewhere?” 

“It was more about the timeline thing.” She bit her lip then shrugged it off. “Doesn’t matter though, it is what it is and if you don’t know you don’t know. So let’s just ignore this and deal with the rest of it. You doing okay?” 

“You know me. Always steady.” 

She eyed him, noting the way he was pressing a hand flat against his leg, the way he wasn’t sitting exactly as he usually did, and decided that was bullshit. 

“I’ll just let you keep that illusion then.” 

“Hey!” he protested. “When have I ever not been the picture of calm! I am the steadiest person you know. The port in a storm, any situation--” 

“Except for the emotional ones,” she cut in, leaning over to peck a kiss onto his cheek. 

He flushed a bit and it was so ridiculously cute. It had always been cute. That was why they were in this situation in the first place. 

“I am _fine_ with those,” he protested. 

She gently pushed his glasses up off his face. 

He frowned at her, eyes flicking uncomfortably without their armor. “You’re a bit, you know… You’re a lot.” 

“Oh?” 

“ _Not_ in a bad way. Just… You’re a hurricane and it’s a bit hard to convince myself to go stand out in the rain and let the wind take me.” 

“Too late for that,” she joked, eyes flicking down to his stomach. She couldn’t see any difference from here but… well he _was_ wearing clothes and sitting down. 

“There’s not much there yet,” he said, noticing where her eyes were going. 

“No?” 

“Nah, just a bit. I mean, enough for me to notice and realize what had happened.” 

She looked right into his eyes. “How long have you known, exactly?” 

He didn’t meet her gaze. “Not _that_ long.” 

“Deacon.” 

“Really. I mean, I _suspected_ pretty early on, but I didn’t _know_ until, maybe, a few weeks ago?” 

She eyed his abdomen. “Can I see?” 

“There _really_ isn’t much.” He pulled his sunglasses back down. 

Nora poked at his arm. “It’s at least half an excuse to get my hands on you. Since _someone_ has been avoiding me for months.” 

“I’ve been busy!” he protested. “Lots going on. I showed up here soon as I got a chance.” 

“Four and a half months, Deacon. You were panicking over getting knocked up. That’s what you were doing.” 

“It’s not--” He swallowed. “You remember talk we had one time, a ways back? About the benefits of not having attachments? And then you went and grew about fifty, because you aren’t sane. But-- Well, you know.” 

Nora reached out to rub a hand over his shoulder, expression softening. “Yeah. I know.” She let her expression sharpen. “But the last time someone went after my kid I literally destroyed their world. Anyone even thinks about going after this one, and I’ll just destroy them preemptively.” 

“There you go with that hurricane thing again.” He chuckled. 

She went to answer and he pressed a finger to her mouth instead. “Okay that’s enough of that. I have had my fill of that for the day. Topped up. Want to see the bump? You were asking earlier.” 

She licked his finger and laughed when he made a face, then leaned in and kissed him, sliding a hand up his shirt. 

That was… Definitely a bump. Not huge, but for four and a bit months that seemed reasonable. 

She played her fingers over it, feeling a bit guilty as he squirmed but mostly… No _wonder_ so many guys had a kink about knocking someone up, if this was what that smugness felt like. 

Nora shifted, using her weight to push him over against the armrest and sliding his shirt up to look, ignoring his grumbles. 

Okay, yeah. This was definitely a thing. 

She slid down a bit, pressing a kiss to his belly and smirking up at him. “Wanna bang?” 

Deacon smirked right back at her, tangling a hand in her hair. “I mean, if you’re offering…” 

“I can’t knock you up twice.” 

“But I can still knock _you_ up.” 

She paused, considering, then shrugged and started undoing his pants. “I’ll risk it.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Gammarad for betaing this! Any typos are my fault and any place there isn't typos is to her credit.


End file.
